How to create a Local Node (LN)

Local nodes (LN) are the local grassroots base of FairCoop, they offer the link between the local projects, initiatives, individuals or collectives to the global Faircoop community. Therefore a local node can be seen as a connector team which shares the information bidirectionally (local-global-local).

What is needed to create a LN?

A group of individuals committed to FairCoop and to the tasks a local node needs to do.

Access to internet, in order to share and communicate with the rest of FairCoop members. For those areas without access to internet, please contact the Local Node Area in order to find a solution.

How many members for each node?

The minimum number to be considered a functional node is 3 members, because 3 is in many cultures the minimum number to create a coop, association, etc. However it would be great to be at least 6 people, and a node which is able to involve 10-12 very active members would be a powerful one.

For those people who are looking forward to create a node but they are less than 3, the first thing to do is networking! We are sure there are people around you interested in the project, moreover, you can ask the Extension group to help you create an event near you so that more people can learn about the project.

What are the basic 1-2-3 steps to get a node started?

Hold the LN founding assembly: define priorities, goals and strategies of the node and make notes of the minutes in a pad –e.g. Board.

Request an email address from FairCoop for your LN by writing to sysadmin@fair.coop

Request an OCP account for your LN (including a FairCoin address) to manage all financial and organizational issues referring the node by providing a link to the assembly minutes and the date of the foundation here

Add individual participants of your Node to the LN Account in OCP by making your own join form (ask here localnodes@fair.coop). This tutorial will help you

Join the global LNs map: click on items in the menu bar, add new items(+) in the upper left corner and fill in the requested info by clicking in the cells. When all mandatory fields are filled the button submit changes will appear.

Share your LN assembly minutes and agenda, and other important info with the others here.

(OPTIONAL) Initiate a Point of Exchange (PoE), after reading this Guide
and participate in the corresponding PoE telegram group for more precise information or questions.

If you have any questions, contact the Local Node Area and they will gladly assist you.

What are typical tasks?

Some of the LN's tasks are:

Welcome to FairCoop at local level: host physical meetups with individuals and collectives interested in FairCoop and share the vision

Organize FairCoop workshops, talks, interviews: Information and knowledge are important, not just to understand the idea of the transition, but also to become active yourself. Hosting events like that can help to dynamize the involvement of local people in your node and let the community grow. If you're lacking expertise in your node you can also request on the global level for help to make the event a success.

workshops could be about FairCoop tools, like FairCoin wallet installation, FairMarket, FairPay, use.fair-coin.org or more general topics like Blockchain, money creation or how the banking system works)

talks & interviews could be about the overall vision and the different components of the ecosystem from a more general and holistic view

Connection between the FairCoop network and local players: LNs know best which projects, organizations, merchants and collectives in their region are in line with the basic principles and could be interested in joining forces with the FairCoop Ecosystem. Thus, it's the responsibility of the LN to contact them and work on possible collaborations, for example with the aim to make a Faircoin circular economy happen.

Transmission channel for the FairCoop global projects: When a global project is scheduled, the local nodes will be a key team to expand the project to existing groups that could have similar activities or may want to participate.

Taking responsibility for a global Faircoop project or task: When a team is able to work together physically, it becomes more powerful than just a virtual team. Thus, it would be very interesting for the whole FairCoop community to see a local node coordinating a FairCoop project or a concrete global task.

FairCoin Point of Exchange (PoE): A PoE is a physical space with a trusted contact to exchange faircoin with fiat currencies (like Euro) at the official price, to give everybody an easy access to our currency at the local level. PoEs are part of the local node gateway and are managed through the Getfaircoin.net platform. Write to admin@getfaircoin.net for more details. This could be also a way to self-finance a local node because at least 1% of the exchange goes to the local node as a fee.

As part of PoEs, local nodes can also facilitate the access to Fairpay cards, for users and POS app for merchants; making easier for all of them to use faircoin for their real needs and promoting circular economy.

Support Freedomcoop members in their area: Promote to become a member of FreedomCoop for self-employed, answer questions and doubts or connect them with the relevant information on the global level. As LNs get part of the redistributed fees, this can be an important source of income for the node… Get more details here: https://freedomcoop.eu/local-nodes/
And in general in all the freedomcoop site athttps://freedomcoop.eu

Organization

Every LN needs to decide how they want to organize themselves and how they make their own decisions. Nevertheless, all the information should be available, shared and open to every member of our global cooperative ecosystem, thus there is the minimum need to hold a group profile in FairNetwork in order to share assembly minutes or other useful documents.

Funding

Local Nodes funding campaign

Duration: 6 months.

For LN that are constituted and had the necessary involvement inside FairCoop ecosystem, for at least 2-3 months, in order to realize enough what it is about, our goals, values and all the various related projects, there is the opportunity to receive a certain amount of FairCoins as a monthly fund to empower their efforts.

There is a 6-month program which aims at creating a self-sustainable LN at some point.

FreedomCoop fees redistribution

If your LN is in the list of the active local nodes (/docs/local-nodes-list/ ) you may receive part of the FreedomCoop redistribution funds. This happens after the end of the 1st quarter. The criteria of distributing this funds depends on the FreedomCoop assembly.

Right now 1/3 goes to any LN, 1/3 goes to LNs involved in Freedomcoop and 1/3 goes proportionally to the fees paid by each country.

Faircoin local solidarity economy fund

A fund for boosting the local solidarity economy using Faircoins. The LN manages a fund that cannot be spent in this case, but used to provide credits without interest in Faircoin to the local merchants and producers who accept Faircoin and in some cases to users that have small liquidity needs.